GO ART! hits fundraising hard: without funding, 'arts will not happen'
Photo by Joanne Beck
Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council staff continues to get a good return for its efforts at extracting as much state funding as possible for local arts projects, Executive Director Gregory Hallock says.
And for nothing short of a fairly simple reason.
"Last year, we were the second highest in the state, only behind Manhattan. So that was pretty awesome that we were that high up there in the amount of funding we're giving out. Our argument that seems to be working is that, unlike these other big regions, if we don't have this funding, arts will not happen,” Hallock said during this week’s Genesee County Human Services meeting. “These other places, they have multiple arts organizations that exist with multiple different forms of funding, whereas we, if we don't have this funding, it's not there. We need this funding to make arts happen. So that is working, that has worked for us, and we will continue to use that.”
Hallock gave a summary of his 2024 annual report before the committee considered his request for county funding.
Known as GO ART!, the nonprofit doled out $336,000 in the form of Reach, Ripple and Spark grants to individuals and groups for various art projects and activities, including:
- Batavia Concert Band during the summer at Centennial Park
- Batavia Players during its 2024 season
- Bergen Park Festival and Genesee Symphony Orchestra
- Gillam-Grant Community Center’s A Spectrum of Art
- Haxton Memorial Library’s Talented Thursdays
- Opera on the Oatka by Heather Kathleen Davis with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Le Roy and Holland Land Office Museum’s guest speaker and concert series
- Oakfield Betterment Committee’s Labor Daze
- Corfu Farmers Market 2024 Music Series
- Elba Betterment Committee’s EBC Presents
- Brian Kemp with BID’s 2024 TableTop Art Show
- Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge Artful Observation
- Chris Hamel with Office For the Aging’s Youth Music Program
- Eric Zwieg’s The Family Model
- Linda Fix with Batavia City School District Foundation’s It Takes a Village and David Burke’s Extension to Harvester Center Hallway murals
“So we gave out a big chunk. It did go down this year, but we are still pretty high up there. I don’t want to use the word anger, but close to it with other arts councils and other organizations that are giving out funding because they don't like that we're getting that much money, but it's a grant, and we wrote the best grant. So we are getting the money to get out, and we will continue to do that,” he said. “Also, we have a $3.1 million project that we are working on for here in this county, with the building that we are in, we are expanding below and out with a cultural garden and an elevator that will be going through the whole building. We have $1.6 million towards that project currently. So we have $1.5 to go for that. We are in a little bit of a rush. We have until June 30, 2026 to not only raise the rest, but to spend the money as well. So we are searching for funds, trying to raise funds, coming up with ideas, left and right, to work on that.”
GO ART! received a grant through AmeriCorps VISTA to hire a fundraising development employee who will be working with staff specifically for this project, he said, and the agency’s gold barn project in Orleans County.
“So we are excited to have them. We are slightly nervous because it is completely federally funded, so we don't know at any point if we won't have that position, but currently, we do have that position,” he said. “I would say those are our major things. Our programming will continue to grow as we get more stuff. We are looking into this year expanding our creative arts program so that it is now beyond our actual footprint in Batavia.”
Staff is working with Alexander school district to be able to provide an arts camp there, with the possibility of reaching out to Pembroke next, and alleviate potential “hefty” transportation costs by bringing students in to Batavia, he said.
“So our solution is to run one camp, but at different locations. So we'll be doing that during the summer, and we'll be having six weeks of programming during the summer, but it'll be located at all different places,” Hallock said. “This past summer, in review, it was all held in Batavia. So this summer, we'll be spreading it out throughout all of them.”
Building on the foundation laid out in the last annual report, GO ART! has expanded programming and services to "further engage and inspire our diverse community," Hallock said.
"In collaboration with our valued partners and supporters, GO ART! has continued to secure vital funding, enabling us to sustain our operations, maintain our historic landmarked building, and deliver exceptional arts programming amidst challenging economic conditions," he said. "This year, I am particularly proud to share that GO ART! brought opera and ballet to the region, introducing our community to these celebrated art forms and expanding our cultural landscape in new and inspiring ways."
New endeavors include the Erie Canal Arts Festival, a cultural plan for the GLOW region, and the two capital campaigns previously mentioned: the installation of an elevator and the expansion of programming space into the foundation of the Batavia site at 201 E. Main St., as well as the development of a new space at the Orleans County Fairgrounds in collaboration with Orleans Cornell Cooperative Extension.
GO ART! has and is in the midst of installing an elevator within its three story historical building and making renovations that include roofing, water management, masonry, carpentry, doors and windows, finishes, mechanical, plumbing and electrical.
The hopes are to complete the projects by June 2025, Hallock said. The building and property that includes a music garden, art garden and horticultural garden is owned and operated by GO ART!, and staff has been in discussions with the county to purchase a larger garden/outdoor space that is directly behind the East Main Street building, to be used for programming, he said.
GO ART! has applied for grants to expand to add a foundation to include a pottery studio, darkroom, woodshop, art gallery, and two large art studios.
In the past year, the site has expanded two murals with the assistance of Batavia High School students and teachers, and community artists who painted murals in the kitchen and back corridor. The Mason Gallery was expanded to take over the entire second-floor hallway.
The handicapped bathroom on the first floor was turned into a permanent gallery space known as the Bethany Antique and Arts Gallery, and a colored glass mosaic was added to the third-floor bathroom by artist Christy Valsente.
Explore Art for youth includes a Kids’ Club, creative arts camps, teen animation classes, Do Re Mi: Music & Movement, preschool pop-up parties; and more geared for adults, there are murder mystery nights, open mic nights, jam labs, crochet club, comedy nights, karaoke nights, pillow-sewing class, haunted history tours and investigations, Ukrainian egg-decorating class; and Tarot Reading 101.
GLOW Creatives, a New York artist employment program, was a group of artists taking on a two-year residency that began in June 2022. Artists worked on independent projects and group collaborations to audiences in Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming, Livingston and Monroe counties.
The budget breakdown for revenue was:
- Events and earned income - $70,782
- Foundation support - $214,680
- Individual and corporate funding - $27,326
- Public support - $622,350
Organization expenses were:
- 1.9%, or $17,278, for fundraising
- 28.3%, $254,482, for programs and events
- 32.4%, $291,247, for administration
- $336,000, or 37.4%, was awarded as grants
After Hallock’s annual report presentation, County Manager Matt Landers recommended the agency’s funding request for $7,500, which matches the amount given since 2022. Committee legislators agreed, and a final vote will be taken by the full Legislature on March 12.
